Man denies bank card fraud

A man is to stand trial accused of stealing thousands of pounds in cash and goods during a crime spree across Perth and Kinross and Angus.

Alexandu Bizau denied all 18 charges against him when he appeared at court yesterday.

The 33-year-old is also accused of placing a card skimming device and secret camera on a cash machine at the Co-op in Blairgowrie on June 16 2013.

He is alleged to have stolen a bank card from the Co-op in Auchterarder on June 26 that year, before using a stolen bank card and pin to withdraw £500 from a cash machine at the town’s Bank of Scotland branch.

On the same date he is alleged to have pretended to a staff member at Ellie’s Cellar in Auchterarder, that he was the legal holder of a bank card in order to buy goods worth more than £600.

On September 12 that year, he is accused of stealing a bank card from the Co-op in Mayfield Terrace, Arbroath, before withdrawing £700 from a cash machine at the firm’s Montrose Road store.

Other charges allege that he stole bank cards in Callander, Arbroath and Kirriemuir, and that he withdrew cash or paid for goods at various locations across the region, to a total value of almost £4,000.

The final charge alleges that he failed to comply with bail conditions by failing to appear at a court hearing in Perth on July 20 2014.